


Fate Fixes Infinity War (Part Two)

by CeliaEquus



Series: Author Has a Twisted Sense of Humour [6]
Category: Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Avengers Infinity War Fix-It, Canon Divergence - Avengers: Infinity War Part 1 (Movie), F/F, F/M, Fix-It, Gen, M/M, Multi, Not Avengers: Infinity War Part 1 (Movie) Compliant, Post-Avengers: Infinity War Part 1 (Movie), Soulmate-Identifying Marks, Soulmates
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-03-23
Updated: 2019-04-23
Packaged: 2019-11-28 12:26:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 16,043
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18208301
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CeliaEquus/pseuds/CeliaEquus
Summary: Thanos has screwed us over royally.Fate is about to kick his ass for it.





	1. Avoidance is the Best Strategy (Phil/Tony)

**Author's Note:**

> Note: *on edge*

Tony tried to scratch the itch on his back, but his arm just wouldn’t reach around there without aching like a bitch. He’d probably dislocated it during the fight, sometime after most of the Iron Man suit ended up in pieces. He wasn’t going to ask a strange alien with a vicious streak to scratch his back for him, either. Even if they were on the same side, that was too personal, and it looked like half of her had been replaced with metal, so she’d likely do more damage than good.

“What’s our plan now?” he asked her.

“We go to my ship and try to find allies,” Nebula said. “Can you walk that far?”

“After Afghanistan, this’ll be a piece of cake,” he said.

“A piece of cake? What is cake?”

“You don’t have cake where you come from?” She shook her head. “Oh man, you’re coming to my wedding. You’ll get the best damned cake _ever_. It’s traditional on Earth to have a spectacular wedding cake. It’s… it’s a baked good. Sweet. Comes in different flavours. People can decorate them in spectacular ways. I’ll take you all the way to Charm City Cakes. We’ll get Duff Goldman himself to make and decorate a cake just for you. He’ll get a kick out of meeting a real-life alien from another planet. They’re all huge fans of _Star Wars_.”

Nebula didn’t seem to know what to say to that, so she led him to her spacecraft. Tony tried hard not to geek out; by now he’d already been on a spaceship, but this was the first time he was doing it willingly, and not to save an errant sorcerer.

A sorcerer who’d just saved his life. Tony couldn’t comprehend it.

“You seem more competent than your friends,” Nebula said. “Or my sister’s friends.”

“Doesn’t seem hard to be more competent than _them_ ,” he said. She smirked. “I wouldn’t say I have more common sense, but I’m one of the smartest people around. The most competent person I actually know is probably Coulson.” He grimaced. “Not that he talks to me anymore. He’s been in damage control twenty-four-seven since Ultron. Huh, never occurred to him that if he’d been around Ultron wouldn’t have happened?” She stared at him. “No, I’m… I’m just bitter. I obviously pissed him off one too many times, and he won’t tell me what I did wrong, so… yeah. How do we work this thing?”

Nebula was smart enough not to push and just got down to business. They were soon blasting off Titan. He stared out the window but could find no joy in the starry sky that he was seeing up-close for the first time since the Chitauri attack.

He sank to the floor of the ship and tried to get his breathing steady.

“W-we need to get to Earth,” he said. “We need to regroup with whoever’s left.”

“I will kill Thanos,” Nebula said.

“Yep. I think I’ll leave that to you, unless I can create a better weapon to wipe him out. But in the meantime, go for it. Only after you’ve given us all the information you have on him, though.” He glanced up at her. “We need everything you know if we want a chance of stopping him.”

“If we can get hold of the Infinity Gauntlet, we can reverse what he did,” she said. “But there may be other damage we cannot undo. An Elder of the universe could handle the gauntlet, but very few others could. I’m willing to try.”

“Thanks. I’m glad you survived. Either you or the bug lady; she actually subdued Thaons. The others seemed pretty useless.”

“If the other guardian Rocket survived, he will be an asset,” Nebula said. “He can build and operate any type of gun. Gamora… Gamora was the only other intelligent one.”

“Let’s hope he survived,” Tony said. “Damn, is there some kind of insect on Titan that could’ve bitten me? This itch is driving me crazy.” He stood up and lifted the back of his shirt. “Can you see a rash or a bite mark? Feels like it’s around my soulmark. Do you know about soulmarks?”

“Yes, of course,” she said. “But I don’t see one.”

“Well, if you don’t know English—”

“No, there are no marks on your back. A few scars, but no words in any language. And there’s no bite mark or rash,” she added.

“But… but it’s just here,” he said, poking the itchiest part and then hissing at the tight feeling in his arm. Nebula looked closer.

“No,” she said. “Oh. Perhaps… when your soulmate dies and you lose your soulmark, it feels like—”

“No.” Tony shook his head. “No, that can’t be.” He dropped his shirt. “Not…”

“The wedding can still happen if we reverse what Thanos has done,” Nebula said. “She will not stay dead forever.”

“Pepper’s not my soulmate,” he said. “I never met my soulmate… I don’t think so. I’ve ignored so many people, or met them when I was high or drunk, so who knows? I’ve met too many damn people and I just didn’t care.” He blinked back tears. “I’m… I need a drink. Do you have anything on this ship?”

“Yes. Just over there.” She pointed. “I hope we have enough supplies to reach Earth, but I stole the first Necrocraft I could find and I did not check to see what food and drink was in stock. Let me know if you need me to explain any of the food to you. We do not have the same foods as Earth.”

“I figured that out for myself,” Tony said, opening the cupboard. “Oh wow. Okay. Well, good thing I’m not fussy about food.”

“If you want to sleep first, or find somewhere to mourn your soulmate…”

“How can I mourn someone I never met?” he asked, reaching out for the first thing that looked appealing. He hoped the image on the package matched what was in the box.

“At least your soulmark was not burned off and covered with metal,” she said softly.

“…I’m sorry,” he said. “Maybe… maybe that’s something we can reverse as well.”

“I was a child. It was too long ago.”

“No, I mean, I know a scientist named Helen Cho, and if she survived what Thanos did she might be able to help you.”

“Really?” Nebula asked, looking over at him.

“It’s worth a shot.” He shrugged. “What do you have to lose?”

“Now? Nothing.”

Tony knew that feeling.

 

They’d just broken into Earth’s atmosphere when the itch returned. Tony was so relieved when it faded, and now he was tensing up again.

“You might have to help me repair the ship,” Nebula said. “After jumping so many times to get here quickly, something in the structure may be compromised.”

“I will give you access to every one of Stark Industries’ resources,” he said. “I definitely picked something up on Titan, because that itch has come back.”

“Let me see,” she said. She pulled up the back of his shirt. Hours with only each other for company had broken down their barriers surprisingly fast. “No.”

“No?”

“You did not ‘pick anything up’. Your soulmark has returned.”

“What?” he squawked, twisting his head around to see her. “It has?”

“There are words here now.”

“…Do you have a mirror, or can you read English?”

“I do not know how to read any human languages, and there will not be any mirrors here. Can you wait?”

“Uh… pen. Pencil. Paper. Anything so you can copy down what you can see?”

“No. I am sorry.”

“Okay.” He sighed. “Okay. My soulmate’s back. Wait.” He frowned. “If my soulmate turned to dust – which we think they did – and they’re alive again…” They stared at each other.

“We need to get to Earth,” Nebula said.

 

Phil had been on an international commercial flight when he turned to dust. Most of the people on the plane did. Fortunately, the plane was on autopilot, so the only people who’d suffered were the passengers who panicked and the flight crew trying to reassure them that they’d be fine for now, and that they were already calling for help. He had one hell of a headache when he returned to life, from the sheer noise in the cabin.

His stomach itched, but that didn’t bother him as much as the headache. It wasn’t until he heard that nearly everyone else was itchy as well that he checked. They all realised around the same time that the itch came from their soulmarks.

_So are you going back to ignoring me, even after all this?_

Even if he hadn’t already known who his soulmate was, he sure did now.

It took a few days, after first seeing Tony’s handwriting, to realise where and when they would have met. Phil had been acting as security while on a SHIELD mission at a huge charity event, given by the Maria Stark Foundation. Tony had been there, of course, and they’d exchanged a few generic words when everyone had to be ushered out of the building for security reasons during the night.

These words were far less generic. And worse, Tony and Pepper were about to get married. If he’d realised sooner, maybe he could’ve had a chance. Instead, he took to spending as little time around Tony as possible. Pepper was his friend; he couldn’t betray her, and it’s not as though Tony even liked him.

Judging by his new soulmark, Iron Man had certainly noticed the avoidance. Well, if it reduced the chances of Phil’s heart being broken, he was going to keep it up. He didn’t want his work compromised because of his feelings.

Though the Ultron fiasco, and its everlasting repercussions for the Avengers, showed that maybe avoiding Tony completely had been a bad idea.

Too late now.

 

“Phil,” Natasha said, throwing her arms around his shoulders.

“Romanov,” he said, confused by the show of affection.

“Did you…?”

“I turned to dust.” She flinched. “I’m back now. Obviously. We were lucky. The plane was on autopilot, so it was only a matter of waiting until the pilots came back to life. We were still in the air for seven hours after that. No help was necessary.”

“Good. You’ve heard about other crashes?”

“Yes.” He sighed. “Did we lose anyone?”

“Permanently? Not that I know of. Stark’s back from outer space.”

“Space? What the hell happened?”

“I’m sure he’ll be happy to explain,” she said.

“No, I’m happy to hear it from you.”

“You can’t keep staying away from him forever.”

“I haven’t…” He saw Tony out of the corner of his eye, and turned away. “Look—”

“So are you going back to ignoring me, even after all this?” Tony demanded.

Phil closed his eyes.

“I have to,” he said. “It’s better for both of you, Tony.”

“…What?”

“You heard me,” he said sharply, frowning at his soulmate. “You heard what I said.”

“I… when did we…”

“Charity event in the nineties. I was security. You were busy. I didn’t realise at the time, not until I saw your handwriting soon after you became Iron Man. And then you and Pepper… It’s never been the right time.”

“Not even when we broke up before the fight with Cap?”

“You’re soulmates,” Natasha said quietly.

“Yes, but nothing more,” Phil said. “Nothing else, I mean.”

“No, you meant ‘more’,” Tony said, walking up to him. Natasha disappeared as suddenly as she’d appeared, lost among the crowd of Wakandans and outsiders. Phil contemplated doing the same thing.

“Does it matter?” he asked.

“You knew for _years_ , and you never told me?”

“What would you have done?” Phil said. “You never showed me any respect; you just dismissed me like you do pretty much everyone in your life. You never saw me as a friend. You’ve never liked me, and I’ve seen the kind of people you date. My soulmark is not in a platonic position, and I couldn’t settle for just being friends with you, so I did the best I could. I avoided you, yes, so I could avoid the heartache I knew would follow if I fell… if I cared for you. Which I would. I… do. The small amount of time I’ve spent around you has already done enough damage. Why would I want to do any more? You have Pepper, and I have my work.”

“And the cellist?” Tony said, his dark eyes piercing into Phil’s.

“A story so that Pepper, _my soulmate’s girlfriend_ , wouldn’t try to match-make me with someone like I was the sad-sack sidekick in a romantic comedy. I was trying to protect my heart, but you still keep getting at it! Why couldn’t you just leave this alone?”

Tony opened and closed his mouth a couple of times.

“Pepper and Rhodey have found out that they’re soulmates,” he said. “We’ve worked out how that happened. We discovered, shortly after Pepper started working for me, that they lived on the same street, even went to the same school. Rhodey was a teenager, helping out young kids learning baseball. He coached Pepper’s older brother. She was only a kid, and he didn’t remember hearing her say his words. There’s always a lot of noise in sports fields. So he only had childish handwriting for his soulmark, which is why he never recognised her adult handwriting. But they spoke on the phone while we were all waiting for you to arrive, and that’s when they realised. Now, my question is, what do I do? Pepper and I have broken up before because we thought we weren’t compatible. And maybe we aren’t. No one will really notice if the wedding doesn’t go ahead, after everything that’s happened.”

“Tony, you can’t break up because of this,” Phil said.

“Why not? I want to give them a chance, the kind of chance I didn’t get. All because I was a self-important asshole and you’re a man of few words.”

“You’re still an asshole,” he said.

“You’ve got me there. So. Should I cancel the wedding?”

“Weddings are expensive.”

“I’m a billionaire, Agent.”

“You don’t know my first name.”

“It’s Phil.”

“You love Pepper.”

“And Rhodey will love her even more.”

“I’m starting to go bald.”

“I’m starting to go grey.”

“You hate me.”

“I never said that. Thought I’m starting to wonder whether all the times you interrupted us were deliberate manoeuvres on your part.”

“My timing’s not that good,” Phil protested.

“Your timing is generally perfect, and you know that. All I could think about, up there in the Necrocraft with Nebula, was about finding out who my soulmate was. I never even got to see your handwriting, or I would’ve known.”

“I tried to show you documents with my handwriting. You’d never look at them, even when I put them on your workshop table instead of trying to hand them to you.”

“Ah.” Tony’s cheeks reddened. “I don’t like paperwork. I’m pretty sure I’m actually allergic to it.”

“That’s unfortunate, for a businessman.”

“I’m a mechanical genius, first and foremost,” Tony said.

“I find this change of heart and mind too hard to believe,” Phil said, taking a step back.

“Why so shy, Agent Coulson?”

“Because you’ll get bored of me,” he said. “You get bored easily. It’s the disadvantage of genius. I won’t let you break my heart like that.”

“Do you honestly think I’m that fickle?” Tony said, his eyebrows furrowing.

“Yes, actually. I do. Pepper’s the longest relationship you’ve ever been in, and even then things were contentious between you. Natasha flirted with you, and you flirted back, and you’d barely been with Pepper any time. She told me the two of you have never even had sex, which is something I never needed to hear, by the way. That’s probably the only reason you’ve stayed together for so long.”

“Hey, she’s not the one who’s been withholding sex,” Tony snapped. “And how _dare_ you suggest that I’d cheat on someone. I flirted with Natasha because I was drunk and dying, and mostly because it’s my default setting. I can go steady with someone, and be in a relationship for something other than sex. My relationship with Pepper proved that. Why can’t you accept that being with my soulmate… would be better?”

Phil swallowed against the lump in his throat.

“Because I’m just me,” he murmured.

“Guess what, I’m just me, too. Our souls match. Did you hear that the other guys met Fate today? Yeah, she’s real. Soulmateship is real. I’ve already told Pepper to postpone the wedding; if she and I don’t get married, she and Rhodey can use all the arrangements instead, and just change the decorations and cake design. Or you and I could use it, if you decide to take a chance on me. But we don’t really know each other as well as we should, do we?”

“That’d be my fault,” Phil said, looking at the floor. Tony tilted his chin up.

“Then let’s change that,” he said.

“Okay.”


	2. The Good Guy Gets the Girl (Mantis/Thor)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Thor is wallowing. Mantis just wants to be helpful, no matter what it costs her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Note: *still very much on edge*

It did not feel like a time for celebrations. Thor was aware of how utterly he had failed his friends and his people. Thanos’s actions may have been reversed, through an act of Fate, but he had still won. Many were dead. No one had heard from Selvig or Helen Cho or Hawkeye; and Loki, Heimdall, and those left on the _Statesman_ had not been turned to dust. Thor held out very little hope for their return.

He looked up with a start when he heard someone speak his name. It was the woman with antenna, one of the Guardians of the Galaxy.

“Please do not be so sad.” The empath sat beside him. “I could feel it from the other side of the room. Even if not everyone is returned to us, there is hope for your people who escaped. Can they defend themselves?”

“Yes,” he admitted. “And the last Valkyrie is with them. I hope.” He drank deeply from the flagon of Wakandan ale. “But if I had aimed for his _head_ —”

“I should not have said that Thanos was in mourning,” Mantis said. “That led Peter to realise what had happened. We had a chance to defeat Thanos before he reached Earth, and we failed. It was partly my fault. If I had kept better hold of Thanos, gotten him under control sooner… but none of that would have brought Gamora back. She was my friend. She taught me many things. She and Peter and Drax all taught me how to read and write, and to speak different languages. Rocket taught me how to fire a gun and Groot showed me how to play his computer game. They are all my friends, but Gamora taught me the most. Many things.” Thor noticed her cheeks getting darker. “She said that they would be useful when I meet my soulmate, but none of us could read my soul words. I think she was being polite.”

“My brother was the one talented at reading foreign scripts,” Thor said. “He could have helped you.” He sighed. “You have less reason to blame yourself than I do. Quill was the reason you lost. If anything, your battle on Titan bought time for me to acquire a new weapon and reach Earth. Anything you did to delay his arrival was helpful.”

“Doctor Strange has said that the outcome he saw involved everyone being saved, not only those who turned to dust,” Mantis said. “Fate’s interference has prevented you from saving everyone. He told me that no one has to know, but I thought it might give you some comfort.”

Thor smiled shakily, but the guilt was impossible to shake. Mantis reached forward and placed a hand on his arm. He felt some of his sorrow cease; he knew why as soon as he saw the tears pouring down her cheeks. He wiped them away.

“Do not cry for me,” he said. “I knew my family. You never even knew yours.”

“How did you know?”

“Drax told me.”

“Of course he did,” she said. “There… there are some here who are angry with you, but most also hold their own share of the burden of guilt. Peter more than anyone, although he also gets lost in mourning Gamora.”

“If I had only gone with you to Titan, I could have held Quill back from Thanos!”

“Shh.” Mantis rubbed his arm, projecting some peace into his soul. “Could you have held yourself back from attacking Thanos yourself?”

Thor went to protest, but he knew better. He had lost control on the battlefield because of grief; he knew Quill’s pain and guilt over such loss of control costing them victory against Thanos. How could he be so hypocritical? He had never considered how their motives and mistakes matched. He had no right to judge the other.

“Do not feel ashamed, either,” Mantis said.

“Emotions are normal and healthy,” Thor said. “It has taken a great deal of time on Earth to learn that, but Midgardians are wise about such things. True warriors grieve the loss of their battle-mates. I… I have not allowed myself time to grieve my father, my friends, and my home. If I had given myself that time, perhaps my reaction would have been less violent…” He shook his head. “No. Loki’s death I am used to. But Heimdall was one of my best friends and my most trusted advisor. His death hurt me even more than Loki’s. Does that make me a terrible brother?”

“It is not your fault that your brother has faked his death before,” she said.

“Isn’t it?” he murmured. “I wonder.”

Mantis looked confused. He shook his head. She didn’t ask any questions.

 

In the middle of the night, Mantis left the bedroom she was sharing with Nebula. She found it hard to sleep. They did not have such comfortable beds on the _Milano_ , but that was not the problem. With her guard down, and so many people around, her body was buzzing with the slew of strong emotions beating throughout Wakanda, and especially the royal palace.

Many humans were still awake. Peter was at a window, staring out at the sky. Thor was nearby, doing the same. Neither of them spoke, but the atmosphere between them felt less tense than before. She walked over and stood between them. She touched Peter’s shoulder.

His face crumpled as he looked at her, and he turned into her arms. His body shook and her shoulder grew wet as he wept silently. Mantis patted his back, holding him tightly. She looked at Thor, watching them with pity in his eyes.

A blue light flashed outside. Thor ran out the door, followed by others. Mantis kept Peter where he was; he was in no state to fight. No one was, but his tears would blind him, and anger would make him careless. She had seen it before; she would not allow it to happen again.

“It is your friend!” Thor bellowed. Peter looked up. “The green lady.”

“Gamora,” Peter whispered. He let go of Mantis and sprinted towards the door; Mantis was close on his heels. Sure enough, Gamora was there. The blue light disappeared, a man in golden clothes vanishing with it. Peter was covering Gamora’s face with kisses.

“She’s the reason we lost?” Mantis jumped when Tony spoke to her. “She’d better be worth all those deaths.”

“From what I heard, had you not fought against your friends we might have stood a better chance against such a large-scale threat,” Mantis said, defending her brother. “If you had been united, you would have fought more effectively.”

Tony frowned at her. Thor walked up to them, smiling.

“The last of your friends has joined us,” he told Mantis. His smile dimmed. “My brother was not with them. The Grandmaster made no mention of…”

“Sorry, buddy,” Tony said, patting his shoulder roughly. “Maybe they’re just looking for the rest of the Asgardians before they come pick you up?”

“Perhaps,” Thor said. Mantis brushed her hand against his and felt his lack of hope.

“I will wake the other Guardians,” she said. “Nebula must know that her sister is alive. Unless Peter and Gamora choose to copulate right away.” She wrinkled her nose. “But Peter is sharing a room with Drax. I hope he goes to Rocket and Groot’s room. They will have more bed space. Nebula has been spreading out.”

“I’m not waiting around,” Tony said. “I’ll head back to New York tonight. T’Challa’s got a plane on standby. I’m not needed here. Or wanted. And I have to see Pepper.”

Thor frowned as Tony walked off.

“What has disturbed Stark?” he asked.

“Oh,” Mantis said. “I think that was my fault. I reminded him that he and his team-mates were not on good terms, and that if they had been we all would have stood a better chance against Thanos.”

“I won’t disagree with you,” he said. “I’m deeply disappointed in them, but especially Stark. He was never one to follow rules or orders. Something changed his mind, and yet he continues to act against the Accords he signed. He didn’t seek permission before following Strange to space. He brought a child soldier to a fight against trained adults. He won’t accept responsibility for his actions and he has never liked to be told that he’s wrong.” He half-smiled. “I know. I was once like him. Not that I would ever have endangered a child, though.”

“You would be a very good father,” Mantis said.

“Yes. And Asgard’s royal line must be continued. But I never met my soulmate. If I did, perhaps I didn’t hear their words. I’ve been too distracted lately to think of such things. Having faced death… you died, did you not?”

“Yes.”

“I’m sorry.” He held her shoulder. “You shouldn’t have to deal with other people’s problems. You must have time to yourself to mourn.”

“I have no one to mourn, now that Gamora is back,” Mantis said.

“Good.” He smiled sadly. “Good. Go and tell your friends that Gamora has returned.”

Mantis nodded and hurried to tell Nebula the good news. Nebula ran straight from the room. Mantis alerted the rest of her team-mates, and stood back while they also went to find Gamora and welcome her back.

Mantis decided to get some rest. They would be heading back into space tomorrow, unless Peter wished to see his old home. Either way, they would not be around Earth any longer, and that made her feel… empty. She wanted to see Thor happy again. She had to know what happened to his people.

And she wanted to see a zoo. Peter had told them about Earth creatures many times. General Okoye had shown her the Wakandan rhinoceroses, and told her of sanctuaries she could visit if she wanted to see more animals from all corners of the world. But she may not have a chance now.

Not that she was displeased to see Gamora again. She only wished for more time.

Mantis rolled onto her side. She looked at the strange mark on the inside of her elbow. It was no writing that she recognised from any of the places she had travelled with the Guardians of the Galaxy, so Gamora had warned her that it might be a birth mark.

But Mantis was sure it was not. The marks were too regular, some of them exactly the same, as if they were letters in an alphabet. It was a very long mark, dipping into the bend in her elbow and spreading out either side.

If there was one thing she wished more than the chance to explore a zoo, it was some way to read her soulmark.

 

Thor hoped that Mantis would not leave with the others. He had quickly come to rely on her. It wasn’t fair to her, but he felt protective of her at the same time, and wanted to make sure that no one used her to unburden their pain. It was bad enough that she spent so much time in the medical ward, helping the patients who couldn’t articulate their pain and sending some of them to sleep, or forcing them to feel hungry when they had to eat something.

Bruce had said how valuable she was, and that she would make the best nurse he had ever had the privilege to work with. As Thor planned to take Bruce to New Asgard, wherever it would be, he wished to take Mantis as well. But she had her friends, who were like family to her. What could he offer? A group of strangers with their own burdens of sadness? Bruce and his underlying rage? Wandering the universe, perhaps for years, until they found a new place to settle? She deserved a home with the option to travel if she wished, and he couldn’t give her that. Not yet.

They could keep in touch with the Guardians of the Galaxy, of course. But Thor’s truce with Quill was still a delicate thing; he wouldn’t want to incur the man’s anger by trying to take away a valued member of the team.

Sometimes, Thor suspected that he hadn’t entirely changed from the selfish young prince he used to be.

“Let me give you my address,” Doctor Strange was saying.

“May I write it down?” Mantis asked. “I know how to write, but I like to practise.”

Strange smiled indulgently.

“Of course,” he said.

Thor approached. He had no address to give, but he wanted to ensure that Strange’s intentions were honourable.

“I haven’t been to Missouri in a long time, but if you want a guide around New York City, I’m your man,” Strange said. “Or a visit to Nepal. I can show you Kamar Taj; that’s where I learned the mystic arts.”

“I do not think we will be on Earth long enough for that,” Mantis said. “But we will visit you when we can.”

Thor had suddenly lost interest in the conversation and was instead staring at the address that Mantis had written. More specifically, the writing.

“I missed your first words to me,” he murmured. Mantis stared up at him, her antennae glowing. Strange smirked and backed away.

“I wondered,” he said cryptically. “I’ll leave you to it.”

Thor would have to change his opinion of the Sorcerer Supreme.

“I addressed you as King Thor,” Mantis said. “Oh. I was not the only one, was I?”

“I was wallowing in my own sorrow,” he said. “It isn’t your fault. Where are your words?”

“Here,” she said, rolling up her sleeve and showing him the inside of her elbow.

Thor ran his thumb over the mark. Mantis shivered.

“I am usually ticklish there,” she said. “This is different.”

“It would be,” he said. “My mother told me how it would feel, but I never imagined…” He smiled widely. “I’ve found you. Do you… will you still go with the Guardians? I must find my people; I cannot wait here forever. However, I’d want to take you with me, to become my queen. But I can’t ask you to abandon your friends.”

“You can, as my soulmate,” she said. “I would like to join you. I am not as useful to the others as I would like to be. If I can help you and your people, I would like to.”

“No, this is not about what help you can give anyone,” Thor said. “I want my soulmate by my side, and I want my soulmate to be happy.”

“That is all I want, too,” Mantis said.

Thor beamed, and he leaned down to kiss her cheek.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *still ludicrously on edge and getting frustrated*
> 
> Anyway. Next chapter: what is Loki’s fate?
> 
> Ship requested by Potterhead55 and Metas4Life and seconded by WritersBlock039 and MissNikki2U.
> 
> Please review!


	3. The Bad Boy Doesn't Get the Girl

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What happened to Loki?
> 
> By the way, this story did not go the way I intended.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Note: *on edge to the point of ridiculousness* This follows on from the previous chapter.
> 
> Reminder: these chapters are all unconnected, unless otherwise specified.

“None of our messages have reached Midgard?” Loki said incredulously.

“No, Prince Loki.”

“Thor will be frantic waiting to hear from us!”

“We should get moving, then,” Brunnhilde said.

“We’re heading for Midgard as fast as we can,” Heimdall said. They both glared at him. “Do not give me that look. I told you that we should have looked for King Thor first, but you were insistent, Prince Loki.”

“He wouldn’t have taken it well if we searched for him first,” Loki said. “My brother values our people’s lives over his own. And we knew where he would be. Somehow, he always finds his way back to Midgard. It was everyone else’s locations we were unsure of. Now that we are all back together, we can join him. He will have been able to spend time with his Midgardian friends without the burden of looking for the evacuees, and as soon as we reach Midgard we can take him with us. Perhaps they have even told him where we can settle a new Asgard.”

The others could not argue the wisdom and truth in his words. Once they nodded, he stalked off to stand beside the designated throne, such as it was. The Grandmaster had fixed most of the damage, enough for the ship to be functional, and they could all be grateful for that. But they would need to stop at a planet for repairs, and Loki doubted very much that Midgard had the facilities required to fix the _Statesman_.

They took another twenty hours to arrive at Midgard. Finally, every one of the messages managed to get through. It was simply a matter of waiting for a return message, telling them where to land the craft.

“It’s a big planet,” Brunnhilde said, staring out the window. “One of the biggest inhabited planets I have seen. And you tell us that their technology is primitive?”

“Compared to ours, Sakaar, Xandar, Nowhere, and many other planets I have visited.”

She shook her head.

“Thanos would have destroyed millions of humans,” she said.

“Billions.”

“Billions?” She whistled. “That _would_ be a drain on their resources.”

“It’s still no excuse for genocide, successful or not,” Loki said.

“Have you always felt that way?”

“Mother would not have approved of me believing otherwise. And Thanos went about it in a completely haphazard fashion, no order or method at all.”

“And of course that should be a consideration,” she said, rolling her eyes and downing the rest of a bottle of spirits.

“Prince Loki, we have King Thor’s co-ordinates,” Heimdall said.

“Proceed there at once.”

 

“Brother!”

Loki was yanked into the most bone-crushing embrace of his life. When had his brother gained the strength of a Jotunn?

“Thor, put me down,” he said, resigned to his brother ignoring his request.

Surprisingly, Thor set him down at once.

“I am sorry that I _ever_ called you a terrible brother,” Thor said, tears in his eyes as he cupped Loki’s face. “I was the terrible one. I did not fully realise that you had died, truly died. I was so sure—”

“That I was faking it again? Not an unreasonable conclusion to draw. I do not blame you for that… brother.”

Thor smiled widely and finally let Loki’s face go.

“You must all meet your future queen,” he said. He turned around, and Loki noticed Jane Foster, her female friend who was obsessed with music, and… was that an empath? He thought they had all died out. “Mantis, my beloved!”

The empath looked at them. She left the other two women behind and hurried, with a skip in her step, to Thor’s side.

“I told you that your brother would return,” she said in a soft, tuneful voice. She smiled at Loki. “Hello. I am Mantis.”

“You are… marrying my brother?” Loki said.

“She is my soulmate!” Thor said. “Mantis, this is Loki, and Heimdall, and Brunnhilde, the last of the Valkyries…”

While Thor continued to introduce Mantis, and began extolling her virtues, Loki politely murmured a greeting, an excuse, and then strolled up the hill towards the palace. He stopped to pay his respects to Thor’s former beloved.

“I hope you are doing well, Dr. Foster,” he said. “And Miss… Lewis, wasn’t it?”

“Darcy Lewis, that’s me,” she said. “I never got around to meeting you, did I? Sorry to hear about your home, by the way. And your dad. It sucks to lose family. And to have a falling-out with other family members. And on _that_ scale? Dude.”

“Thank you,” he said, getting the gist of her condolences. He raised his eyebrows as the doctor continued to stare at him. “Is there a problem?”

“You can’t seriously be my soulmate,” she said.

“Ha! Thor was right,” Darcy said.

“You can read the script of All-Speak?” Loki asked.

“Thor’s been teaching Mantis, and when I realised that the writing matched my soulmark, I wanted to learn what it meant,” she said. “He said that the writing looked like yours, but he couldn’t be sure without seeing your soulmark as well.”

“Aw, this means you’ll be leaving me, Janey,” Darcy said, pouting. “What’ll I do without you? Now that Eric…” They both bowed their head. Loki understood at once what had happened.

“I’m sorry for your loss,” he said. “I was sure that my brother was about to announce that he was going to marry you, Dr. Foster.”

“Well, if he thought you and I were soulmates, it makes sense that he wouldn’t wanna do that,” she said. “Especially since he’s fallen for his own soulmate.” She looked wistfully past Loki at Thor and Mantis. “You know, the one and only time we slept together was in London, and in the morning he was staring at my soulmark. I figured it didn’t mean anything to him, but we never shared a bed again. A week later, he broke up with me. Now I think he recognised the writing and felt guilty.”

“Well, yeah, he would,” Darcy said. “Did you know you and Jane were soulmates?”

“I only suspected,” he said. “I understood the words when you spoke them, due to the All-Speak, but you never confirmed it. I should have known that only using the All-Speak on Midgardians would lead to such a misunderstanding. But you and Thor were together, so I dismissed the thought. I believed you to be soulmates, although he had made no declaration of it. I should have known.” He chuckled. “Of course he would announce that he had met his soulmate, especially before I met mine.”

“Technically, you met Janey before he met Mantis,” Darcy said. “You just didn’t know, which is totally understandable. Language barriers, y’all.” They both looked at her and she backed away. “I’m just gonna let you talk. Or whatever. Yeah. See you later. I’m gonna go meet the other guys.”

She dashed past them, leaving an awkward silence behind.

“I will understand if you do not wish to have anything to do with me,” Loki said.

“Don’t make up my mind for me. I hate it when men try to do that.”

He frowned.

“I am offering you a way out, as the first time we met you slapped me across the face in retribution for New York,” he said. “You do not like me. You may even hate me. I will be going wherever my brother goes, and I’m sure you would find it awkward to be around him and his new soulmate. And your life and work are here on Earth.”

“What happens if we don’t bond and I have to wait thousands of years for you to die, to get a new chance in another life?” she said.

“I will not create a soul bond with anyone who despises me,” he snapped. “I want love and kindness and an _attempt_ at understanding, not disdain and fear and anger. If I want anger, I’ll go to Bruce Banner. If I want disdain and fear, I’ll go to any of the Asgardians who hate me, which would be, let me see, _all_ of them.”

She flinched.

“I don’t feel disdain for you,” she said.

“Oh, I’m so glad.”

“Don’t talk to me like that!”

“This is going marvellously. And you wonder why I have given you the option to say no? Do not worry about the soul bond, Dr. Foster. There are dangers aplenty out there. I’m sure I shall die before my time; there are plenty who despise me enough to carry out the deed as soon as they have a chance. Thor and Mantis will carry on the royal line, and I will eventually be forgotten. I hope you have a better chance in another life.”

He turned on his heel and stalked back to the ship. He heard Thor call his name, but he ignored his brother.

He could not blame Thor for this, much as he wanted to. He had no one to blame but himself (and, to an extent, Thanos).

He would not settle for a relationship with so much bad blood. He needed a partner in mischief as well as in politics. He needed someone with a light heart and a high level of tolerance and patience.

Once, he would have wanted an intelligent spitfire to challenge and amuse him. Not anymore. He knew what mattered now, and that was peace.

It seemed that he would have to wait for another lifetime, indeed.

 

New Asgard was settled. Titan had once been a peaceful, prosperous land, and it would be again, for all refugees would be welcome.

Thanos had been imprisoned on a small island off the main land on the other side of the planet, and the New Asgardians were working hard to make their new home the best that it could be. Some of the Avengers and the Guardians had joined them to help, and Bruce was staying on, in charge of the hospital. Mantis was his second-in-command, in charge of nursing staff. She had spent time learning about medicine in Wakanda before they left, and learned basic first aid. She was going to train as many interested people as possible, before she had to take up royal duties.

Not that there were any royal duties as such, not until New Asgard was on its feet and ready to have some kind of order. Loki used his magic whenever he could to speed things up, partly because the sound of construction gave him a headache. And partly to be useful. It seems that his sister-in-law was having a positive effect on him, as Thor had wished.

Over time, their society became settled and most of the humans left. The Guardians decided to make New Asgard their home base, so that they could check on Mantis and bring much needed supplies from their travels. It was also, in Loki’s opinion, so that Star-Lord could remember where he had made his most fatal mistake in hopes of never doing so again.

A few months passed and Mantis was noticeably growing rounder. Thor had already been protective of her; now he was ridiculously overprotective, assigning Brunnhilde as her personal guard and defence trainer. If Brunnhilde was unavailable, Heimdall or Loki were expected to take over looking after Mantis. Loki did not mind; he was protective of his sister-in-law, and his future baby niece or nephew.

He tried to teach Bruce some magic, to aid with the healing process, but the human had no talent for it.

“I’ll stick to traditional medicine, Loki. But thanks for trying. There are just some things only you can do.”

It was quite a flattering remark, and Loki was much less afraid of the Hulk now.

“We have visitors today,” Thor said, barging into the room. Loki was overseeing Mantis’s education. He looked up from the table where he had been checking his sister-in-law’s work.

“If Mantis is happy to stop work, we can continue later,” he said.

“But it’s Jane and Darcy,” Thor said. “Don’t you wish to see them?”

“Not particularly.”

“You’re unhappy about Jane being your soulmate.”

“Yes,” Mantis said. “He feels that they are not right for each other.”

“Thank you, Mantis,” Loki said, trying to keep his voice even. “I can speak for myself.”

“But you would not,” she said perceptively.

“Many people do not work as soulmates, but stay together out of sentiment,” he said. “I refuse to be one of those people. I won’t ask her to be different for me, and I will not be different for her. So we will wait until the next life. It is as simple as that.”

“We do not know Mantis’s life span, but that has not stopped us from being together,” Thor said.

“Jane Foster slapped me when we first met. Her work is on Midgard, and I refuse to live on a planet where everyone there hates me.”

“Some people like you,” Bruce said, poking his head around the doorway.

“On Midgard?” Loki asked.

“Yeah. It’s, uh, mostly the female demographic, women and girls who are attracted to the bad boy type. Probably some men as well, but mostly women.”

“We know that is not Jane Foster’s type,” Loki said, looking pointedly at Thor. Mantis cleared her throat. “My apologies, Mantis.”

“I do not mind, but Thor does,” she said.

“Darcy’s coming here, though, right?” Bruce said. Thor nodded. “Good. Just hang out with her, Loki. I’ll keep Jane occupied.”

“Thank you, Bruce.”

 

After two days, Darcy and Jane left. Thor helped Mantis sit down and cradled her baby bump from the side. Bruce and Loki collapsed onto the opposite sofa.

“Well,” Bruce said. “There’s definitely something to be said for Free Will.”

“I always thought so,” Loki said.

“No, you didn’t,” Thor said.

“Please, brother, let me have this. I was right, after all.”

“Yes, you were,” Bruce said. “Jane’s opinion of you was… pretty low. She doesn’t want to be part of a royal family and she was sure you were expecting her to come crawling to you, ready to change herself.”

“I’m sure you are holding back worse things.”

“Yes.” He winced. “I’m sorry. I hoped I could maybe convince her to give you a chance, but I’d forgotten how stubborn she is.”

“And she still has feelings for my husband,” Mantis said. “I was close enough to feel that at dinner last night. It is easier on both of you if she stays away.”

Thor covered his face and groaned.

“I’m sorry, brother,” he said.

“I don’t see why I need a soulmate when I have the three of you,” Loki said. “There is more to life than soulmateship. Look at us. Four different species,” he had stopped hiding his heritage behind white skin long ago, “all getting along together. Two of you soulmated. Two of us former enemies.” Bruce smiled at him. “And then Brunnhilde and Heimdall round out our group. Bringing someone contentious in would have a negative impact on our team. I don’t want that, and it wouldn’t be good for New Asgard. Let’s stay the way we are.” He glanced at Bruce. “Unless your soulmate shows up and fits in with us.”

“Tony’s my platonic soulmate,” he said, shrugging. “And he sided with Secretary Ross. Why do you think I was so happy to come here?”

“I do not regret being soulmated to my beloved,” Thor said, stroking Mantis’s baby bump and gazing at her lovingly. Mantis blushed.

 

Darcy peered at Jane, who was staring out the window as they continued flying towards Earth. Shuri had used designs provided by the Guardians of the Galaxy to create her own space craft, which she had loaned them for the trip.

“So you’re happy with leaving things like that?” she asked.

“He didn’t come to see me,” Jane said.

“You made it clear that you’re not over Thor, right in front of his pregnant wife.”

“It makes sense for them to be married,” Jane said. “I don’t have time to be a mother, and he needs someone to carry on the line.”

“Okay, no, there are other things, Janey. You two were into each other for physical reasons; you don’t fit otherwise. You saw him as a dumb blond most of the time, which I get. You’ve had enough guys saying they’re smarter than you, so you wanna get your own back, whoever it is. But you don’t do that kinda thing to someone you actually love. Two, Thor and Mantis, _his soulmate_ , are clearly in love with each other and support each other emotionally. It’s not just physical and convenient for them. It’s about feelings, too. And,” she held up her left index finger when Jane went to interrupt, “it wouldn’t be fair for you and Thor to be together when you’re his brother’s soulmate. We know Loki’s been jealous of Thor in the past. He’s probably jealous of the relationship Mantis and Thor have. It wouldn’t be fair on him for you to hang around making moon eyes at his brother.”

“He’s the villain,” Jane insisted.

“Not anymore,” Darcy said. “I wish you’d see that, boss lady.”

Jane was silent for the rest of the trip, while Darcy grooved along to her iPod.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *on edge and getting bored with it*
> 
> Sorry to the Jane fans out there. I did my best, but they just don’t fit as things stand. I might be able to do them as a background pairing, where I don’t have to concentrate on the ways they don’t work out, but as a main ship I can’t. I thought I might be able to, but I’m not as infallible as I thought.
> 
> Anyway, ship was requested by PrincessLena. My apologies for not being able to carry it out properly, and for any perceived pre-GammaFrost that worked its way into the fic.
> 
> Please review!


	4. Too Cute (Bruce/Bucky)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The title is a bit of a warning.
> 
> Bucky's had a crush for a long time, but he's sure it would never lead anywhere.
> 
> Then the snap happened...

Bucky had a secret obsession.

It wasn’t the love of science and science-fiction; everyone knew about that, partly because of the (only) accurate biographies about the Howling Commandoes, and partly because Steve liked to talk too damn much about him.

No. Bucky’s obsession was with a particular scientist and his big, green alter-ego.

He couldn’t get his head around all the science – and _boy_ , did Bruce Banner have a huge range of knowledge – but he liked to read his articles anyhow. Something about his style of writing had more passion between the lines than any of the other scientific articles that Bucky read when trying to integrate himself into the modern world. He’d heard HYDRA talk about Banner before, and he was glad they’d never gotten their hands on him.

Then he found out about the Hulk from Steve, and the Hulk’s true identity. And after watching all the videos as he could find, he was intrigued. He’d found some old videos from science conferences and interviews that a Banner fan had put together. The Jekyll and Hyde dichotomy was amazing.

But mostly, as time went on, he found that he was just staring at pictures of Bruce Banner and wondering how soft his hair was and how easy it’d be to make him blush.

He told absolutely NO ONE about these thoughts, least of all Steve. The blabbermouth would tell Sam, whose disregard for Bucky’s privacy would ensure that the information got leaked to the scientist. And Stark’s clear protectiveness of Bruce Banner meant that he’d have double the reason to kill Bucky, if he ever found out about it.

So Bucky kept quiet. It was the only way.

 

“Barnes?”

“Huh?” He choked on dead leaves as he knelt up and spat grass out of his mouth. What was he doing on the ground? Where was Steve?

“Oh, thank Bast you are alive,” T’Challa said.

“Y-your highness?” He looked around the glade. “Where is everyone?”

“Rhodey?” Sam called from nearby.

“Sam!” Bucky said, getting to his feet. Footsteps thumped through the bushes and Sam emerged, pulling his goggles up out of the way and staring at them.

“Something weird happened,” he said.

“No kiddin’.”

“I will call Shuri and find out,” T’Challa said, activating his kimoyo beads.

“Vis?”

“Oh no,” Sam muttered, before running off. Bucky stayed in place, letting Sam deal with Wanda. After hearing what she’d done to the Avengers’ minds, he kept well out of her way; it was irrational, but he didn’t want to risk another person messing with his brain.

“I am Groot?”

“Oh, hey, you’re that raccoon’s friend, ain’t you?” Bucky said, squatting down in front of the tree. “You came here with the axe and lightning guy. Thor?”

“I am Groot,” the tree said, nodding.

“Come on. Let’s go find out what happened to our friends.” He stood up and held out his hand. Groot folded little wooden twig fingers into his hand. Bucky’s heart swelled with affection for this child-like warrior who sounded so lost and vulnerable.

They made their way to T’Challa, who was waiting with Wanda and Sam. They all began to return to the palace, and were joined along the way by other warriors. T’Challa explained that they’d turned to dust, but that their deaths had been reversed. There were other consequences throughout the world, especially the nations where most people had been awake at the time of the snap. They’d suffered the highest number of casualties.

“Maybe people will finally see how much we’re needed,” Sam said.

“And what’d we do?” Bucky said. “Thanos still won. People are still dead, which is _exactly_ what he wanted. What was the point?” Groot squeezed his hand comfortingly.

“I am sorry that we forced you to fight, but your help saved the lives of many Wakandans, and for that we thank you,” T’Challa said.

As they neared the palace, bright security beams lit up the area. Rocket made a beeline for Groot and hugged him fiercely. Steve swept Bucky up and wouldn’t let go of him.

“Put me down, ‘m not gonna disappear on you again,” Bucky protested.

“You promised to be there `til the end of the line,” Steve said, his voice muffled where his face was buried in Bucky’s shoulder. “I’ll let go of you when I’m good and ready, which’ll be _never_.”

Bucky rolled his eyes, but he could understand. Steve kept losing him, to the war, to HYDRA, to Bucky’s own fears, and then the dust. Still, he needed to breathe.

“Should probably return this arm to Shuri and get a check-up,” he said. Steve gave him room to breathe, but kept an arm around Bucky’s shoulders.

“I’ll take you there,” he said.

“I know the way better than you do, Rogers.”

“Wanna bet?”

Bucky sighed and allowed his best friend to drag him away.

“Aren’t you gonna greet Sam?” he asked.

“Rhodey’s all over him,” Steve said. “He told us they were soulmates. They’ve got enough catching up to do, since we’re all no longer enemies.”

“Well, that’s nice,” Bucky said. “Is it official?”

Steve set his jaw.

“It will be,” he said stiffly. “Or the governments of the world will regret it.”

“If I was a government, I’d be shaking in my boots.”

“Jerk.”

Shuri was glad to see him alive again, which was nice. She promised to work on a non-combative prosthesis for him, something closer to a normal arm, while she removed the new one. Bucky stared at it for a moment.

“How much would you charge a raccoon for that?” he asked.

“What?” she said, startled.

“It’s not an academic question. That cybernetic raccoon wanted to buy my gun and my arm. Come to think of it, you might wanna increase the security on… everything. I get the feeling he might just take what he wants. I grew up in Brooklyn; I’ve seen that look on enough faces. Mostly human, but some critters as well. Rats an’ stuff.”

“I cannot put a price on this level of technology,” Shuri said.

Bucky winced as he looked at all the damage the arm had taken.

“Sorry,” he said.

“Sit here while I go and put this somewhere secure,” she said. “If I am not back soon enough, Dr. Banner will see to you.”

She left before she could see Bucky’s face turn beet red. He swung his legs where he sat on the hospital bed, biting his bottom lip.

“Bucky?” Steve said slowly. Bucky glanced up, saw his expression, and looked down at the floor again. “What are you… no.”

“W-what?”

“Are you…?” He heard the grin in Steve’s voice. “I don’t believe it. I haven’t seen you this gone since… have you even _met_ Bruce?”

“Shh!” he hissed, looking around. “Anyone could hear you!”

“This is hilarious,” Steve declared. “And also adorable.”

“He’s one of Stark’s best friends, so he’ll hate me by default,” Bucky said miserably.

“He’s been missing for over two years. He doesn’t know everything that happened. Well, I guess Tony _did_ tell him when he finally arrived back on Earth, but he probably didn’t have time to give him the full story. Or _his_ version of the full story, at least. And besides, Secretary Ross wants the Hulk under lock and key. As long as you’re anti-Ross, you’re pro-Bruce.”

“Was already pro-Bruce,” Bucky muttered. “And no, I haven’t met him. Read a bunch of articles he’s written, though, and seen some videos.”

“The ones I showed you?”

“Not just those ones. Of _him_ , not just the Hulk. And he’s really…”

“You always did like brunettes,” Steve said, smirking. Bucky flipped him off.

“Don’t tease me,” he said. “I haven’t got a chance. He’s way too smart for me. He’d get bored trying to explain stuff. Besides, he’s probably the romantic type who wants to wait for his soulmate to be in a serious relationship.”

“Oh, Bucky…”

“He’s outta my league.”

“He doesn’t have any more control over the Hulk than you had over the Winter Soldier,” Steve said.

“I’ve heard he’s got better.”

“Maybe, but you don’t even have that burden anymore.”

“See? I don’t have anything in common with him. He’s too good for me.” Bucky’s shoulders slumped, so much so that he nearly fell forward off the bed. He sat up straight when Steve cleared his throat.

“Bruce is coming,” he said. Bucky’s eyes widened.

“Can we wait for Shuri?” he begged.

“I’m not puttin’ your health on the line just because you have a cru—”

“Don’t say it!”

“Is there anything wrong, Steve?” Bruce asked, appearing out of nowhere. Bucky yelped and almost fell off the bed. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you.”

Bucky tried to calm his racing heart, but he knew it was pointless.

“You don’t scare me, I’m just on edge,” he said.

“Oh, good. Oh,” he repeated, his eyes growing wide. “Uh…”

“Look, there’s nothin’ wrong with me, Dr. Banner,” Bucky said, scratching the inside of his thigh. “Steve and Shuri are just bein’ worrywarts.”

“You’re scratching,” Steve said.

“Probably got bitten by a bug in the rainforest or somethin’.”

“Or it could be your soulmark,” Bruce said quietly. Bucky stopped scratching right away.

“My soulmark?” he said. “How’d you know that’s where it is?”

“It’s a side effect. After the snap, loss of soulmarks led to itchiness. I should know.” He coughed. “Then when they returned, usually different from before, they itched again. The itching ceases after you’ve seen the new mark.”

“Why, doc, are you trying to get Bucky out of his pants?” Steve drawled.

Bucky looked at his so-called friend in horror. Bruce’s cheeks had turned pink.

“It’s better to rule out one possibility before moving on to others,” he said.

“Fair enough,” Steve said. “I’ll just wait over here then.” He grinned at Bucky over Bruce’s shoulder and Bucky wished he could sink into the floor.

“Sorry about that,” he mumbled as soon as they were alone.

“It’s fine,” Bruce said. “Is there anything else you want me to check out? Oh, and you don’t need to call me Dr. Banner. Call me Bruce.”

“O-okay,” Bucky said. “Bucky. You can, uh, call me that.” He ducked his head.

“And there’s nothing else bothering you?”

Aside from elevated heart rate and light-headedness and a crush the size of Africa?

“Nah. Better check my leg, though.”

Bruce averted his eyes while Bucky struggled to tug his clothing down to his knees. His soulmark _had_ changed, like Bruce predicted, and it… oh God.

_I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you._

He made a strangled noise and clapped a hand over his mouth. Impossible.

Bruce turned around.

“What’s wrong?” he asked. He immediately went to check Bucky’s leg and froze. “Ah. I wondered.”

“It’s you?” Bucky whispered, lowering his hands and shyly meeting Bruce’s eyes. “It’s really you? You’re my soulmate?”

“Yes. I know I’m probably not what you’re looking for…” He trailed off as Bucky slid from the bed and stood in front of him, eye to eye. He knew he was smiling uncontrollably and that there were tears in his eyes. “ _Oh_. Uh, really?”

Bucky pulled out the phone T’Challa had given him. He handed it to Bruce.

“Your birthday is my password,” he said. He waited while Bruce entered the phone. Then he led him to the hidden folder which contained photos of Bruce, video footage of him, links to his academic articles, and a sub-folder with video and fan art of the Hulk.

“How long?” Bruce asked.

“A couple of years. Not longer after I remembered myself. Shuri’s helped me find a lot. Not the specifics. I wanted to keep this mine. If… if you think it’s creepy or—”

“Maybe, but it’s sweet,” Bruce said. “You didn’t know that we’d be soulmates. I’m used to having fans. It’s weird, and I wasn’t expecting _you_ , of all people… But I don’t mind. And you’re right about one thing.”

“What?” Bucky asked.

“Since we’re soulmates, I _am_ yours. And you’re mine. If that’s okay.” His blush was growing darker.

“Can I do something? I’ve been wanting to do it before I even realised that I liked you… like that.”

“Uh, sure,” Bruce said, shifting from one foot to the other.

Bucky reached out and ran his fingers through Bruce’s hair. It was incredibly soft and slightly damp, and Bruce’s eyelids fluttered.

“Not what I was expecting,” he said. “Good thing I washed it an hour ago.”

“It feels so nice.” He leaned closer and took a sniff. “Smells nice, too.”

“You’re not really doing anything to dispel the ‘creepy’ thing,” Bruce said. Bucky began to stutter an apology. “On the other hand, I thought you were going to kiss me.”

“N-not without asking specifically,” Bucky said. “Did you _want_ me to?”

“I don’t think I’d say no,” Bruce said coyly.

Bucky ducked his head again, blushing furiously and chewing his lower lip. Bruce tipped his head up and released his lip.

“That’s a yes,” he said.

“Okay,” Bucky said, his stomach fluttering with nerves. “Okay.”

Quivering with nerves and leftover adrenalin, he pressed his lips against his soulmate’s mouth. He would’ve let them linger there, but Bruce pressed back and cupped the back of Bucky’s head.

They broke apart when they heard Steve keeping people away from them.

“Give `em some privacy,” he said loudly.

“It feels too soon to say that we could get a room,” Bruce said. “And I’d better get Shuri to oversee your health care, since we’re soulmates.”

“Ha!” Steve crowed from outside. “I knew it!”

“Shut up, punk!” Bucky called back. Shuri poked her head into the room, smiling.

“I’m sure there is nothing wrong with you, Sergeant Barnes,” she said. “But you should keep an eye on him, Dr. Banner, just to make sure.” She winked. “Have fun.”

“Oh my God, I kept my crush on you a secret for years, and now _everyone_ knows,” Bucky groaned.

“I don’t need you to keep me a secret anymore,” Bruce said. “Unless you want to?”

“Hell no,” Bucky said. “My ma would be so proud of me for snaring a doctor, she’d burst. I want everyone to know how lucky I am.”

Bruce kissed him again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> THE INDUCEMENT FINALLY WORKED AND MY SISTER GAVE BIRTH AND I NOW HAVE A NIECE I’M AN AUNTY THIS IS SUPER EXCITING AND NOW YOU KNOW WHY I’VE BEEN ON EDGE!
> 
> Anyway. We’re not saying anything about it on Facebook until my sister and brother-in-law can post something. But I never said that I wouldn’t say anything on AO3… And now you know why I knocked up Mantis in the previous chapter.
> 
> Pairing was requested by Alias_Unknown.
> 
> Please review!


	5. Cloak to the Rescue (Hope/Scott/Strange)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Why isn't Scott answering his cell phone? Where's Hope?
> 
> Why has Stephen woken up on Titan? This isn't what he saw in his vision.

“Scott isn’t answering his phone!” Maggie shouted into the receiver. “None of them are! Do you know where they were supposed to be?”

“They were supposed to be going to the quantum realm to collect particles for Ava,” Bill said. “But I’m not sure where they were going to take—”

“Damn it! Haven’t you heard the news?”

Bill raised his eyebrows.

“No, I’ve been working,” he said.

“Watch the news, then call me back once you have answers for me.” Then she hung up.

“Ava?” Bill called. He picked up the TV remote. She hurried into the room.

“Are they on their way?” she said.

“I don’t know,” he replied, switching on the television. He went to change to the news channel, but there was an emergency broadcast.

They both watched in silence as the attacks in New York and Scotland and Wakanda were reported on, as well as the disappearance of half of Earth’s population. Not just the humans, but every species of animal and plant life. There were crashes all over the place, hospitals in a state of chaos, and all the remaining people in the other time zones were waking to find loved ones had turned to piles of dust.

That explained Maggie’s frantic call. Bill went to call her back, and then paused. She wanted answers, but he didn’t have any.

“Do you know where they were going to be today?” he asked.

“Scott said that he’d borrow his friend’s truck to transport the generator,” Ava said.

Grimly facing the fact that he was about to spend fifty dollars on a single, incredibly long phone call, Bill dialled Luis’s number.

“We cannot protect against alien forces until we know what their powers are!” Luis said, sounding uncharacteristically frazzled.

“This is Bill Foster. I know Hank Pym. Do you know where Scott was taking your truck? He hasn’t answered his phone.”

“I’ve already sent the other guys to check it out,” Luis said. “His girlfriend and her parents weren’t answering, either. Do you think they’re all… dust?”

“Let’s hope it’s only a breakdown in communication,” Bill said. “As soon as you hear any news, let me know. Better yet, let Maggie know. I could hear Cassie crying in the background, and… yeah, tell her the _minute_ you hear anything.”

“I will,” Luis said, and then remarkably hung up the phone first.

“Cassie was crying?” Ava said.

“Yeah. It reminded me too much of you. Couldn’t bear it.” He smiled sadly. “Let’s hope that little girl hasn’t lost her father. At least she still has her mother, but…”

“It’s not the same,” she said. “I know.”

Bill patted her on the shoulder, and they both sat down to watch the TV, silently taking in the carnage and loss of hope.

 

Stephen was disoriented when he woke up. No, returned to life. He remembered now; he was supposed to be dead. It felt like barely any time had passed. But… should he remember any of this, if the Avengers had done what was necessary? Or had they found an unforeseen solution? Or was it because he was in charge of the Time Stone?

He opened his eyes and turned over to see that he was on Titan. The Cloak of Levitation tightened around his shoulders in almost a death grip.

“I’m okay,” he murmured, patting the cloak. “But I wish I knew what happened. This doesn’t look right.”

Then Fate turned up and explained what she’d done. Stephen considered telling her how things would have turned out if she’d left well alone, but he didn’t want to risk her removing his soulmarks out of spite, or making sure that he wouldn’t meet his soulmates until he was old and grey and could barely use the sling ring anymore.

Then again, would she do that to one of her own creations?

Fate took Stephen, Tony, and Peter back to Earth, while the others elected to find Gamora. They landed in New York, at Tony’s insistence; he wanted Peter to get back to his aunt as soon as possible, and he wanted to see Pepper. Stephen wouldn’t have minded going to Wakanda instead, like Fate originally intended, but chances were that Wong was guarding the Sanctum in Stephen’s absence, and he’d appreciate being able to go home.

Assuming Wong was still alive.

“I’m home!” Stephen called, walking into the Sanctum. Repair crews hadn’t yet gathered outside to fix the torn roads and broken signs.

Wong hurried into the foyer.

“You’re alive,” he said.

“I wasn’t, but I am now.”

“I know.”

“Tony said that you’re still invited to his wedding.”

“Good. Is everything taken care of?”

“I’m sure it is,” Stephen said. “I’m tired now. I need some sleep. I overworked myself today.” He shrugged. The cloak clung on tighter. “At least most of us came back to life. It’ll have to be good enough; I can’t keep manipulating the universe to get a happy ending. Oh, and some guy named the Grandmaster will be around later to return the Eye of Agamotto. Just a head’s up if he arrives while I’m asleep.”

He stumbled around the gap in the stairs – they’d need someone to repair that, too – and made his way to the bedroom. He finally dragged the Cloak of Levitation from around his shoulders, stripped off his outer clothes, and collapsed into bed. He scratched idly, then not so idly, at his soulmarks.

Was this Fate’s doing?

Stephen sat up and looked at the mark high up on right arm, and then the one on his left thigh. They’d both changed. The handwriting looked the same, but the words were different. Not for the first time, he considered looking up soulmate magic, to see if he could find out who his soulmates were and when they’d meet, but that’d be cheating.

He fell back onto the mattress, still exhausted, and fell asleep while he day-dreamed about meeting the other thirds of his soul.

 

Scott ended up having to sleep over at Maggie and Paxton’s, all four of them sharing the large bed. Hope was spending a lot of time with her parents, and they kept face-timing each other. They may have been non-platonic soulmates, but they understood the importance of family. At least they saw each other during the day.

Cassie kept having panic attacks and breakdowns, usually after a nightmare or if she went half an hour without contact from Scott. He’d had to set a timer on his phone to make sure that he called or texted her, even when she was at school. Her teacher understood; everyone understood. No one had been left untouched by the effects of the snap.

On the other hand, Scott was no longer on a government watch-list for not signing the Accords. The legislation was undergoing major revisions, which meant that the Accords were currently not in effect. No asking permission to save the day.

Which was useful, as it turned out.

“A bunch of nutcases down on the waterfront,” Hank said, striding into the room. Janet was on her phone behind him, scrolling down something on the screen.

“Context, please?” Scott said, looking up from the latest designs Hank had drawn up. He didn’t like how small the measurements were; was this supposed to be a joke, referring to the malfunction which caused Scott’s body to be stuck at the size of a child? He couldn’t think of any other reason for a powered suit this size.

“There are some people who’ve decided that Thanos was right, and they’re protesting at the waterfront, suggesting that all superheroes be locked up so they can’t prevent such a loss of life again,” Janet said, holding up her phone. Scott’s jaw dropped.

“Somehow, I knew this was gonna happen,” Hope said. “I hoped I was being cynical, but nope. People really are that awful.”

“Ants aren’t, but humans sure are,” Hank said. “We have to stop them. They’ve said online that the Avengers are too far away to stop them in time, which means they have something planned. It could be a bomb; it could be a shooting. But they’re on the side of mass death, so it’ll be violent and bloody.”

Scott’s heart nearly stopped when he remembered.

“Cassie’s class is on a field trip at the waterfront,” he said.

“I’ll call Ava and Bill,” Janet said. “You get going.”

Hope took Scott’s hand as they raced out of the room.

 

Stephen heard about the attack in San Francisco. It was Tony and Pepper’s wedding day; he’d agreed to go as Wong’s plus one, since he hadn’t personally been invited, but it looked like he’d have to cancel. He sent his apologies to Wong, created a portal, and then stepped onto a dock.

There was a lot of shouting; that was his first impression. Maybe he should have grabbed the Avengers to help out? Too late now.

The Cloak of Levitation billowed out behind him as he ran. A group of non-powered protestors were hardly a threat during battle, unless they had some kind of weapon that ordinary people couldn’t withstand.

Stephen remembered seeing reports about Ant-Man, who was currently the size of a giant, making sure that a group of children were safely high up in a building away from the protestors. Then Ant-Man shrank down again and ran towards the dock.

A woman in a similar outfit, with wings instead, was already among the protestors, asking what they had planned and knocking out as many as she could. Fisticuffs was not Stephen’s strong point; he headed towards a van where he saw a man he recognised.

“Dr. Pym,” he said. Pym turned around.

“Dr. Strange,” he said. He eyed the cloak. “I heard you were in an accident.”

“I was,” Stephen said. “I’m doing better now. What’s going on here?” He glanced at the woman. “You remind me of pictures of his wife.”

“I _am_ his wife,” she said. “I was trapped in the quantum realm for a long time.”

“Right,” he said, nodding. “I’m glad you’re back. Is there anything I can do to help?”

“We think they’ve planted a bomb, maybe several, but we’re not sure where or how to disarm them,” Pym said.

“I could safely deposit them elsewhere, as long as we track them down before they explode,” Stephen said.

“Really?”

“Yes.”

“We’ve got a team working on the locations right now.”

“They probably want to kill as many people as possible,” Janet said. “They believe that Thanos was right.”

“As someone who faced off against him, I find that insulting,” Stephen replied. “The bombs have probably been planted in the most crowded places in San Francisco, if there’s more than one. Have you taken any of the protestors hostage yet?”

“No. But this is a tourist hotspot.”

“Right. So where—”

There was a loud explosion from somewhere overhead. The screams of many. The high-pitched screams of children.

“Cassie,” Pym whispered, staring up at the smoking building.

Stephen ran that way. If there were more bombs up there, he’d have to get everyone out before dealing with the bombs.

As the smoke cleared with the sea breeze, he saw that walls had been torn out by the explosion, and debris was scattered below. The children were near the windows.

There was a groaning sound, an aftershock of the initial explosion, and then more of the walls and floor crumbled. One child began to fall.

“Go!” Stephen shouted at the cloak, pointing. The Cloak of Levitation flew faster than he’d ever seen it go and caught the child before it had fallen two floors. The cloak landed safely on the ground, and Stephen caught up to it.

“D-Daddy!” the girl shrieked, covering her face.

“Hey,” Stephen said, squatting down in front of her. The cloak returned to him. “I need to help your friends. Can you move away from the building, in case anything else falls down?” She peeked at him between her fingers. “I’m Dr. Strange. I won’t hurt you.”

“M-my daddy…”

“Cassie!” The woman with wings fell to her knees beside them and pulled the girl into her arms.

“I’ll leave you to it,” Stephen said, tapping her on the shoulder. She looked up.

Before she could speak, he flew into the air and reached the other children and their carers in time to form a portal, get them out of the wrecked building to the ground, and then check for other bombs. It seemed to have been only the one. But what if others had been detonated at the same time in other parts of the city, or were going to be?

He floated to the centre of the explosion, not daring to set foot on the floor in case the whole building collapsed. He carefully moved the bomb into a space pocket and flew back to the van.

“Would it help to have the remains of that explosive device?” he asked. Pym jumped and whirled around to face him.

“Yes, it would,” he said. “Bill Foster’s just arrived. He’ll help us. If you and Ava can help Hope and Scott with the crowd, that would be great.”

“I’ll do what I can,” Stephen said, leaving the bomb’s remains with the scientist. He and the young woman Ava returned to corral the protestors until the authorities could take them into custody. Stephen wasn’t able to break into their minds, but he was able to conjure the same golden ropes that he used on Thanos to keep everyone tied together. If they wanted to be like Thanos, they could damn well be restrained like him, too.

Eventually, the remaining conscious protestors were hauled away by the police and FBI, while the unconscious protestors were restrained in ambulances and driven off.

“Why didn’t you try to kill them with those ropes?” Ava asked. “I would have strangled them. They don’t care about how much people have suffered because of Thanos. I think they’re more angry at the Avengers, or perhaps scared of them.”

“Completely misdirected fear,” Stephen said. “And I took an oath not to take human life. I’m a doctor. I simply don’t practise medicine anymore.” He held up his shaking hands and Ava’s eyes widened. “You’re a formidable fighter. Did you really need me?”

“Oh yes, we did,” she said. “What are you?”

“I’m the Sorcerer Supreme.” He noticed her body flickering. “What are you?”

“Different,” she said shortly. “It was a pleasure fighting alongside you. Goodbye.”

Stephen was wondering whether he’d just been dismissed. But as Ava was walking away, the girl from earlier ran up to him.

“He’s the one who saved me!” she shouted, pointing at Stephen. “Daddy, look!”

“It was the Cloak of Levitation, actually,” Stephen explained to her father.

“Oh wow, she was right,” he said.

Stephen’s arm tingled.

“Aren’t I always?” the woman said. She smiled at Stephen. “Thank you so much for what you did.”

His leg tingled as well.

“You’re my soulmates?” he said. The cloak squeezed his shoulders and then pushed him closer to them. “Oh, stop that. I can walk on my own.”

“You still saved my daughter. I’m Scott Lang. Cassie said your name is Dr. Strange?”

“Stephen Strange, that’s right. And you’re Ant-Man.”

“And The Wasp,” Scott said, indicating the woman. “This is Hope.”

“Hope van Dyne,” she added. “My parents are Janet and Hank.”

“I met your father at a conference a long time ago,” Stephen said. “I had no idea his wife was back. I’d heard rumours that she’d…”

“She didn’t,” she said.

“Yes, she told me where she’d been. I’ve only travelled briefly through the quantum realm when astral-projecting. It feels strange to change sizes like that, so I don’t if I can avoid it.”

“There was a way to the quantum realm using _magic_ this whole time?” Hope said.

“I can’t interact with it,” Stephen said quickly. “It’s astral projection. I’m not physically there. I only started learning a handful of years ago.”

“Hey, your mom’s back,” Scott said, touching Hope’s shoulder. Right where Stephen had absently touched it before. “It’s all good now.”

“I guess,” she said. “And now all three of us have met.”

“Yes,” Stephen said. “I’m, uh, supposed to be attending Tony Stark’s wedding, but I’ve probably missed the beginning of it. And there might be more bombs out there. Do you want… do you think I should stick around?”

“Yes!” Scott said. “Stay.”

“Please do,” Hope said, smiling at Stephen.

“I wanna play with the cloak,” Cassie declared. “Can I go flying?”

“Only if the cloak…” The Cloak of Levitation immediately abandoned him to settle around Cassie’s tiny shoulders. “Likes you. Never mind.”

Scott frowned at the cloak and Cassie, and then looked up at Hope.

“Is your father designing an Ant-Man suit for my under-aged daughter?” he hissed. “Is that what those blueprints are for?”

“Just so she feels part of the team,” Hope said.

“No, those have the Pym particles. She’s too young for that responsibility.”

Hope’s eyebrows drew together.

“They have the particles?” she repeated.

“Yeah!”

“I’ll talk with him.”

“I wanna be a sorcerer instead!” Cassie declared, twirling around with the cloak like it was a new party dress. Stephen smiled fondly at the sight.

“Okay, but right now you have to get back to school,” Scott said. “Give the cloak back to Dr. Strange—”

“Stephen,” he corrected. Scott blushed.

“And get back to your friends,” he finished.

“Okay, Daddy,” Cassie said, pouting slightly. The Cloak of Levitation gave her a hug and then returned to Stephen. Cassie gave Scott and Hope a kiss on the cheek before running back to her school friends.

“She’s delightful,” Stephen said. “And if she wants to learn the mystic arts, I can teach her. I’ll ask Wong how young is too young to start her studies.”

“She’ll finish school first,” Scott said.

“Can we finish this later, and deal with the bombs right now?” Hope said.

They followed her to the van, where Pym and Foster were examining the scraps of bomb.

“We found our third,” Hope said. Pym glanced over at them.

“Good,” he said. “At least you’re not soulmated to an idiot.”

“Dad!”

“Welcome to the family,” Scott muttered to Stephen.

“Thank you,” Stephen said sincerely.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so I’ve started work on a Bruce/Bucky fic, just excerpts at the moment, but if I spend less time on ‘Fate’ it’s because of that. And I also want to get back to my original fiction, so that’ll take some of my attention as well.
> 
> The ship was requested by WritersBlock039, complete with the cloak saving Cassie’s life. I suddenly felt like writing it, so voila!
> 
> Please review!


	6. Outer Space Girls (Gamora & Jane)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jane's soulmark still hasn't returned, even though the dusted people are back. Neither has Darcy's.
> 
> Yes, I used the title of a Spice Girls song to name this chapter. No, I'm not ashamed. Mum and I plan to see 'Endgame' tomorrow, so this is probably my last day of happiness. I'll do what I want.
> 
> Girl power!

Another tear slipped down Jane’s cheek as she stared at her wrist. The words which were usually hidden beneath a chunky watch were gone; and unlike everyone else who’d lost someone to the dust, they hadn’t returned.

After looking at the timeline, though, she realised that her soulmate hadn’t died at the same time as half the world’s population. Which meant they couldn’t be brought back to life, and she’d never know who they were. She’d have to wait until the next life before she could find her soulmate and bond with them.

“It’s okay, boss lady,” Darcy said, sitting beside her. She touched Jane’s back. “Same thing happened to me, remember? My soulmark disappeared before yours, and it still hasn’t come back. It could be connected—”

“I know, I know, you said it could be one of the Asgardians, but it _isn’t_ ,” she said. “The timeline doesn’t fit. My soulmate died somewhere in between the Asgardians being attacked and the Snap. We don’t know of anyone else dying between those two events that could be connected to the Infinity Gauntlet.”

“Well, we won’t know unless we get all the information,” Darcy said. “There’s a lot we still don’t know about what happened on other planets. Maybe that’s why you were always attracted to outer space. You knew the other half of your soul was out there.”

“ _Was_ ,” Jane emphasised softly, rubbing the bare skin of her wrist.

“Oh, Janey…” Darcy rested her head on her shoulder. “Please don’t be sad. Thor’s back, and he’s thinking of settling the remaining Asgardians on Earth, if there’s a place for them. Maybe you can get back together?”

“I don’t want to,” she said. “I never told anyone… but when I was alone with Frigga, she told me the responsibilities of being a queen. I don’t know whether or not she approved of me, but it sure as hell made me realise that I can’t do that. I want to study, not have my time taken up with royal duties. I want to travel for fun and research, not for… for _diplomacy_. I don’t want a security detail monitoring my every move. I need freedom, Darcy, not a gilded cage. It’s not worth it when Thor isn’t my soulmate. Though I guess my soulmate doesn’t matter anymore, since they’re gone,” she added bitterly.

“I get it,” Darcy said. “I was really shipping you two.” She cocked her head. “Except when I was shipping myself with Thor.” Jane chuckled.

“You’d sure be better at ruling and diplomacy than me,” she said.

“But Thor isn’t my soulmate,” Darcy replied. Jane glanced up and saw tears welling in her eyes. “I wish… I’d found them. Before. Losing them would still hurt, but at least I’d know what I’d lost. I wouldn’t be stuck with ‘what if’s.”

“I’m sorry,” Jane said. “I was being self-absorbed, wasn’t I?”

“We’re allowed that, I think,” she said. “We’ve both lost our soulmates and we don’t know whether they’ll come back.”

“Who do you think your soulmate was?” Jane asked. “If it was an Asgardian?”

“I don’t know,” Darcy said, shrugging. “The only one I ever met was Thor. Oh, and his friends, but they… they were already gone. Except Sif. No one knows what happened to her, according to Thor. I don’t know, there’s no point in guessing. Besides, they had a bunch of refugees from other planets with them, and Loki, so it wasn’t just Asgardians.”

“I wonder how long it’ll take… oh my God!”

“What?” Darcy asked, nearly falling off the sofa, arms flailing. “What, what, what?”

“Look!” Jane shoved her wrist under Darcy’s nose. Darcy went cross-eyed.

“Janey, a bit further away,” she said.

“But there’s a smudge, you see?” Jane said. “I think my soulmark’s returning!”

They both watched as the words slowly formed.

_Did you survive or were you one of the dead?_

“Same writing as before,” Jane confirmed.

“At least it’s not ‘Hey’ or something stupid like that,” Darcy said. “I’m so happy for you, Jane.” She hugged her tightly. When they finally let go, Jane studied Darcy’s face.

“Don’t you feel itchy?” she said. “Like the others did when their marks returned? Mine only felt itchy for a moment, until I looked at it.”

Darcy smiled. It didn’t reach her eyes.

“No,” she said. “But your mark’s back, so let’s celebrate!”

“Darcy—”

“Jane, I’m happy for you but I don’t want to talk about it. I don’t want to _think_ about it. Let’s get wasted and buy plane tickets to Wakanda, okay?”

So they did. They went to a bar, crowded with people celebrating a return to life and or mourning the loss of loved ones. They started with beer, before rapidly progressing to cocktails with a high alcohol content and funky little umbrellas. Jane started using her Nobel prize credentials to get their drinks faster. They snacked on peanuts and a packet of sweet potato crisps, which tasted awful when dunked in Sex on the Beach, as Darcy found out. But they didn’t care, swinging between laughing and crying.

Someone in the bar screamed when a circle of gold sparks appeared. Darcy fumbled for her taser, only to remember that it was illegal in this state. So she’d stashed it inside her suitcase, which wasn’t gonna help them if this was a bad guy.

“Dr. Foster, Ms. Lewis,” a guy with a goatee said. “I’m Dr. Strange. I’m here to take you to Wakanda to see King Thor and the other Avengers.”

“Hey!” Darcy said. “We don’t have to buy tickets to get there, Janey! Isn’t that awesome? You’re the best, dude.”

“Thank you,” he said. “Do you need a hand through the portal?”

“We’re not _that_ drunk,” she boasted, hauling Jane off the bar stool. They grabbed their wallets and stumbled through the golden sparkly oval.

“Wow, you’re _wasted_ ,” a familiar voice said.

“Shut up, Stark, like you’re one to talk,” Darcy said. “Stupid billionaire with ice cream named after him. Why can’t I have ice cream named after me, Janey? It’s not fair! I’m your intern and you have a Nobel prize, damn it!”

“`Cause the world’s not fair,” Jane whined, clinging to her to keep her balance. “I think I need to sit down, Darce.”

“Me too,” Darcy said. “Not because we’re drunk. Because we’re not. But you’re always supposed to sit down in royal company, right?” She squinted. “Janey, that lady’s green. Maybe I _am_ drunk.”

“You’re not,” the woman said. She looked at Jane. “Did you survive or were you one of the dead?”

“Wow,” Jane said, and she giggled. “That’s like my soulmark.”

Then she threw up on the floor and passed out.

 

“It wasn’t the most exceptional beginning, I’ll grant you,” Darcy said.

“You’re lucky we have a very effective hangover remedy,” Princess Shuri said.

“Why don’t you market that stuff?”

“Because it would encourage more drinking, and I refuse to do that.”

“You’re so smart. And responsible. And a princess. You’re like a living, breathing, Mary Sue. Has anyone ever told you that?”

Shuri rolled her eyes.

“When your friend decides to leave the bathroom and rejoin the human race, let her know that we are all having brunch. Just because I gave you both the hangover cure does not mean that you should have empty stomachs for long. It works much more effectively if you eat something substantial within the hour.”

Darcy’s stomach grumbled. She grinned, embarrassed.

“You know, I can almost forget that my soulmate’s dead,” she said, scratching her arm.

“Are you sure about that?” Shuri asked, glancing pointedly at Darcy’s hand.

“How would it have taken this long for my soulmate to return to life?” Darcy said.

“You’ve been unconscious for many hours. You have been scratching that spot on and off since I woke you up.”

“I mean, it’s where my soulmark was,” she said. “But what if… what if it’s a phantom itch? I can’t stand the disappointment if…”

“Let me look first,” Shuri said. “You must see your arm sometime.”

“Okay,” Darcy said, shutting her eyes and holding up her arm. She felt Shuri slide her sleeve down.

“Yes, there are words there,” the princess said. “You can look. Congratulations. I will be having brunch for the next hour, unless there’s an emergency.”

Darcy was too caught up in gazing at her new soulmark to respond. Just like Jane, she had the same writing, the same soulmate as before.

But that didn’t matter right now. Thor had gone off to find his people. If her soulmate was one of them, it’d be awhile before they met. Right now, she had to get Jane ready to meet her soulmate… again.

“Come on, Janey,” she said, banging on the bathroom door loudly. “We need to go eat something and you can’t stay in there forever. Any good soulmate will laugh it off. At least your words to her were unique? By the way, you _did_ say her words.”

“I know, and that’s what’s so bad about it,” Jane replied. She opened the door a crack and peeked out. “Can we go back to America?”

“ _Think_ , Jane,” Darcy said. “What’s the best way to study the stars? Right in outer space, where your soulmate works. Think how much you’d learn! You could even get a second Nobel prize. Not many people can boast that.” She winked. Jane sighed.

“I’m so embarrassed,” she said.

“Tony Stark got so drunk once that he peed in the Iron Man suit in front of everyone at his birthday party.”

“It wasn’t the very first time his soulmate saw him.”

“Jane, come _on_! I’m starving.”

“You go ahead. I’ll come along later. Or you could bring me something.”

“Be there in twenty minutes or I’m sending someone to get you,” Darcy threatened.

“Okay, okay.”

Satisfied that Jane would remember – since she didn’t have science to distract her at the moment – Darcy left her alone to pull herself together.

She was enticed by the smell of cooked food, and soon found a scrappy arrangement of tables in the foyer, laden with food and surrounded by apparently every chair in the palace. Even sofas and armchairs had been seconded to the array. Darcy grabbed a plate, loaded it with a little bit of everything that was steaming hot, and sat beside a tree.

A tree? Probably an alien, since it had eyes and spoke to her.

“I am Groot,” he said.

“Good for you, dude. My name’s Darcy.” She held out her hand. He shook it solemnly. “I hope this stuff’s good. Can you eat any of it?”

“I am Groot,” he repeated.

“Okay then,” she said, turning to her meal.

“Is your friend coming to brunch?” It was the green lady. Jane’s soulmate, sitting right across the table from Darcy and one chair down.

“She’s still mortified after last night,” Darcy said. “I’ve told her to be here soon, so we’ll see. She’s used to following my orders to eat.”

“Orders?” the woman said, her eyebrows furrowing.

“She gets distracted by work,” Darcy said. “She’d faint from lack of food if I didn’t force feed her three times a day. She’s an astrophysicist, you know. Studies the stars and the planets and stuff like that. I guess that’s where you’re going to next, huh? Back into outer space? By the way, I’m Darcy.”

“Gamora. And this is Peter.”

“Yes, that’s the plan,” Peter said. “Going back to outer space, like you said.”

“I’m dating Peter,” Gamora added. “I’m in love with him.”

“Jane’s soulmark is on her wrist.”

Gamora exhaled with a smile, and showed off her mark with Jane’s handwriting, also on her wrist.

“That’s good to know,” she said.

“And Jane’s straight. She used to date Thor.”

“What _is_ it with everyone being all over him like that?” Peter said. “He’s just another guy. There’s nothing special about him.”

Darcy stared at him.

“He’s my lightning brother,” she said frostily. “Don’t talk about him like that. Besides, he’s like a labrador. Everyone loves labs. Except cat people, I guess. Are you a cat person? I wouldn’t have pegged you for once, but you could be. Anyway.” She waved her hand. “Don’t make me talk. I’m eating.”

“There she is,” Gamora said, looking over Darcy’s shoulder.

“Good,” Darcy said. “Make her eat something.”

“Hi,” Jane said, sinking onto the chair beside Darcy. She was facing her soulmate. “I just wanted to apologise for last night. I never get drunk… well, not usually. But my soulmark was back, so we were celebrating. We were planning to come to Wakanda today or tomorrow… I wish we’d done that instead. I don’t think portals agree with me.”

“They definitely don’t agree with drunk you,” Darcy said. Jane swatted her arm. “Ouch. Get a plate of food, you waif.”

“I’m with Peter,” Gamora said quickly. “I hope that’s okay.”

“I don’t care,” Jane said. “I-I mean, you’re my soulmate, so I care, but not… that way. I’m not jealous.”

“Darcy said that you study the stars,” Gamora said.

“Yeah. I got a Nobel prize for my work on—”

“Wait, a Nobel?” Peter exclaimed. “Dude, you’re like smarter than _all_ of us. Oh my God, Gamora, a _Nobel prize_.”

“If I knew what that was, I’m sure I’d be impressed,” Gamora said dryly. Darcy snorted into her glass of water.

“Only really smart and influential people get them,” Peter said. “We’re taking you with us. There’s room on board the _Milano_. Well, there will be once it’s repaired. We’ll have to return to Xandar to get that done.”

“We should return to Xandar to make sure that everyone there is okay, after what Thanos did to them,” Gamora pointed out.

“Okay, yes, we’ll do that, too. But the ship needs maintenance. In the meantime, I’ll share with Gamora…”

As they continued to discuss the issue, Jane turned to Darcy.

“I don’t want to leave you behind,” she whispered. Darcy met her eyes.

“We’ll meet again one day,” she said. “This is more important to you, Janey. Maybe one day I’ll visit you out in the stars. But you’ll have a proper team now. Selvig really needs to retire, and I need to graduate. Besides, my soulmark’s returned, so—”

“It _has_?”

“Oh yeah, you missed that convo. It’s back now, so I’ve gotta go find my own soulmate, wherever they are. You look after yours, and make sure she looks after you. Don’t worry about me, Janey.” She patted her arm. “The stars were always your thing. You’ll do great stuff out there. I can do great stuff somewhere else, on my own terms.”

Jane leaned over and hugged Darcy tightly.

“I’ll miss you,” she said.

“You too, boss lady.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Want me to do a chapter for Darcy next, where she finds her soulmate? I’m thinking Heimdall, since I’ve already done Darcy/Loki, although I’m also willing to do Darcy/Valkyrie. Thoughts?
> 
> I’m seeing ‘Endgame’ tomorrow, but I promise not to post anything related to that without appropriate spoiler warnings. I might end up doing a post-Endgame soulmate series; then again, I might just go back to ‘Fate Has a Twisted Sense of Humour, Part 2’ and continue that with post-Endgame stories. I might become inspired to write some more unusual pairings based on ‘Endgame’, but ‘Fate Fixes Infinity War’ will remain spoiler-free for ‘Endgame’.
> 
> Please review!

**Author's Note:**

> *still on edge*
> 
> Pairing requested by EllaMichelle.


End file.
